Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Thousand of commuters in Davao city especially students who has scheduled final exam were stranded today as public transport operators went on strike "Jeepney drivers to protest new fines".

We public commuters ride through Jeepney or multicab on our way to school and offices. Its less expensive than riding a taxi.

Jeepney drivers will protest the increase in traffic violation fees implemented by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

Traffic Management Center (TMC) chief Celso Gempesaw said the strike will only be citywide. Speaking on the increase of penalties imposed recently by LTO-Southern Mindanao, Gempesaw said he is not against the increase, but that it is beyond the expectation of drivers. (although I think it was overdone and the implementation was sudden. The drivers were surprised because the increases were more than 300 percent). He also said drivers should look at the measure as a challenge for them not to commit violations.

Based on the new penalty scheme, a person driving under the influence of drugs will be fined P10,000 and his driver's license possibly getting revoked. Driving under the influence of liquor gets a P5,000 fine.

The new order also imposes higher penalties for the following violations:

* Driving without license, P1,500* Driving with an expired license, P400* Failure to carry a license, P200* Possessing a fake driver's license, P2,000* Conviction of a crime using a motor vehicle, P3,000

For operating or driving an unregistered or improperly registered vehicle, a fine of P2,000 will be imposed on the driver if he uses the vehicle without the knowledge and consent of the owner. If the driver is also the owner of the vehicle, he will have to pay P4,000.